The Pentagon was
designed to consolidate more than 24,000 civilian and military
personnel in 17 War Department buildings scattered throughout
metropolitan Washington, DC. In four days during the summer of
1941, G. Edwin Bergstrom, a dollar-a-year volunteer
architect, completed drawings and specifications for a building
to accommodate as many as 40,000 people. Under the Army Corps
of Engineers, up to 13,000 workers  spread over three shifts,
seven days a week  built the Pentagon in only 16 months.
On September 11, 2001, exactly 60 years after groundbreaking on
the site, terrorists crashed a Boeing 757 into the Pentagons
outer west wall. Within a year, the wall was repaired.

One of the worlds
largest office buildings, the Pentagon has three times the floor
space of the Empire State Building. The five-sided building covers
29 acres and contains 17.5 miles of corridors within its five
floors, mezzanine and basement. The Pentagon was designated a
National Historic Landmark on October 5, 1992.

Information
AccuracyThe information for the written description of each location has been carefully
researched by the authors and is believed to be accurate. New findings, however,
could make some information out-of-date. If you are a professional historian,
archaeologist, or architect, and have new information that you are willing to
share, please contact
Dianne Harrah
.